Where Did The BEEs Go?

U. S. Congresswoman Jackie Speier reports:

June 27, 2014

Dear Constituents:

Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about the recent decline in honey bee colonies. I want to let you know I share your concerns about the troubling phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and I have co-sponsored H.R. 2692, the Save America's Pollinators Act, which would direct the Administrator of the EPA to increase the regulations for the use of pesticides to mitigate their effect on pollinators.

According to the Center for Food Safety, honey bees pollinate crops that make up one third of our food production. This is especially true in California, where crops such as almonds, citrus, pears and avocados rely on bees for pollination. In the winter of 2012, up to 50 percent of the bee population died off, the worst rate in forty years. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be one source behind CCD, but certain pesticides have been shown to have a significant detrimental impact on bees. Other possible factors include parasitic mites, viruses, and nutritional deficiencies. It is imperative that we do our part to return bee colonies to a stable state, in order to protect our food security, nutritional livelihood, and ensure the health of California's agricultural industry.

As you may know, this summer Representatives Alcee Hastings and Marcy Kaptur offered an amendment to the Farm Bill that would improve federal coordination in addressing the documented decline of bees and would promote the long-term viability of honey bees, wild bees, and other beneficial insects in agriculture. I voted for the amendment, but the House of Representatives defeated the larger agriculture appropriations bill by a vote of 195 to 234. I hope the amendment will be included by the conference committee appointed to work out the differences between the Senate bill and the second version of the farm bill passed by the House in early July. On December 12 the House passed a one-month extension of the 2008 Farm Bill by a voice vote, without the CCD amendment, so I urge the committee to bring the final version of the new bill to the House floor in January before the deadline.

I will continue to advocate for proposals such as the Save America's Pollinators Act and relevant amendments in the farm bill until we reverse this disturbing trend and our honey bee colonies are again healthy and numerous.  Thank you again for taking the time to write me about this issue. I greatly value the views expressed my constituents and use them to better inform my decision making process. I hope you will continue to write or call me in the future on any other matters important to you.

                                                                All the best,
                                                       
                                                                Jackie Speier

P.S. If you would like more information on the work I’m doing on your behalf in Congress, I encourage you to visit my website, like my Facebook page, or follow me on Twitter. On my website you may sign up to receive my e-newsletter containing legislative and district updates, as well as request a variety of constituent services. Any information you provide my office is strictly confidential and will only be used by my office to stay in touch with you.